Disclaimed

Authors Senseless Babble: This is about a week after Sylvia appeared. So much for lighter feelings, by the way. And I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated! I am at the mercy of the characters, you know. They take me where they will. NO! GO AWAY, REY! YOU CANNOT GO TO GUATEMALA! Okay, well, most of the time.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part 5: Dear Lucius ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Draco Malfoy sneered as he took the letter his owl had just dropped next to him. It was from his father. Again.

You would think the man had nothing better to do than try to run Draco's life! Nearly every week another one came…. All casually belittling him for his failure to get Potter expelled… his inability to beat a stupid mudblood academically…… his obvious lack of skill on the Quidditch field if he was losing to Potter….the fact that he couldn't keep his mouth shut--Lucius had not been happy that he'd had to retrieve Draco from the train, and take the curses off, himself, at the end of the last year. Having to remove tentacles from his heir had made dear Lucius distinctly cranky. And more than a week into the term Draco was still paying for it!! Argh! Never mind the fact that he was second only to the mudblood in their year, never mind that Potter was the best Seeker anyone had seen in a century, never mind anything he ever did get right!

Draco swallowed his rage at his… Lucius, and instead channeled the energy into something useful: thinking of new insults for Potter and His Sidekicks.

A moment later though, his thoughts were diverted by who happened to be walking into the Great Hall for breakfast at that moment.

No one had seen Professor Snape, or that girl, for the past week, since she had suddenly Apparated--or something-- that day. The professor was looking even more sallow than usual.

Draco looked at the girl. What was it Snape had called her? Sylvia! She was now sitting beside Snape at the teacher's table… he wondered why Snape seemed to sit so close to her, almost… protectively?

Throughout the meal he, like the others (especially the male others), watched her curiously. Sometimes more like speculatively.

She really was beautiful. She had long, glossy black hair. It was darker than a raven's wing (great, I've turned into a clichéed poet, he thought to himself), as true black as Snape's--though not greasy, thankfully. But she had the oddest, most brilliant red streaks in it, a color so vivid it was obviously not natural, and not meant to look so. Her skin was the color of polished ivory, or alabaster, and it glowed against the unreleaved black of her robes she now wore. (Snap out of it, Draco!) Her face oval face was a bit long, but in an elegant way, (I give up) and her high cheekbones were defined, and without that lurid pink blush so many girls seemed so fond of. She wasn't even marred by the remains of the livid bruises she'd arrived with; Madam Pomfrey had undoubtedly healed them.

She seemed oblivious to the stares of the Hogwarts students though, instead staring into the sausages on her plate, pinking at them. Draco couldn't help but wonder why she looked so sad.

Surprisingly she looked up, meeting his gaze for a moment, as if his intense gray stare had penetrated her wall of sorrow. He now saw that her eyes were a dark, smoldering shade of brown (what an inadequate word--damn!). Before he had thought her beautiful; now he knew he'd been wrong. With the intensity of her spirit shining through, she was stunning.

He took an involuntary breath. He didn't know what he'd have don if Dumbledore hadn't stood at that moment, drawing a curtain of silence with him.

Like the others Draco's eyes were drawn to the man standing in front of them. Dumbledore looked serious, a stones throw from grave.

"I realize that you all must have been wondering who this girl is," he gestured to her, "and why she's here." He looked around sternly. "I am not going to tell you why she's here. Beyond the fact that her name is Sylvia, she will be attending Hogwarts from this day forth, and that she is Snape's niece you will have to wait for her to tell you herself if she wishes you to know." There were several gasps, and all around stunned faces--not, Draco noticed, from the invincible trio. Draco was drawn back to his own thoughts though, and the sudden urge to scrub at his mouth… he had thought about, about a relative of Snape's…. that way…argh! And worse yet, now that he looked, he could see they even looked alike in some ways… the black hair, the dark eyes, the long faces… even the skin, even if she wasn't wan looking like him but just white. She was lucky that the nose didn't seem to be hereditary!

Whispers were flying about, but they quieted when McGonagall set the stool and decrepit Sorting Hat in the usual place, when Dumbledore nodded to her.

Looking resigned, Sylvia stood and headed for the chair.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

By the way, thanks for the great reviews! And you know, **cough**, I wouldn't mind more. You know. Next chapter will finally be from Sylvia's point of view! Now I just need to decide which house to put her in… hehe, so many possibilities that accompany each! Which one do you think she belongs in? (Neice of Snape and cunning yes, surely Slytherin! Great deeds lie within her and a brave heart, maybe Gryffindor? But loyal to her true friends for all her days--but no, Hufflepuff would kill her beloved uncle. And in that head is a sharp intelligence, a keen eye, so could it be Ravenclaw? )

And as you know, I do have romance coming. Who will be the boy? Or rather…**insert evil little chuckle**…the boys! **Thunder peals as the Dunderlion Queen fades into the night, cackling madly**